NCAA Sweet 16 Fans Bring Sweet Success For Beale Street Businesses

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(Memphis) The beer was on tap and so were the cheers from fans pouring into the bars on Beale Street.

The NCAA Sweet 16 Tournament tipped off at the FedEx Forum Thursday night.

With all of the rain, it did not take much for businesses to get people inside.

"This is what we do and we're prepared for it," Jay Wells, manager at Silky O'Sullivans, said.

Wells said despite the showers, the game still goes on, and so does the business.

"You don't see them out in the street as much, but they're here," Wells said. "They are not going to come all this way to stay in the hotel."

The manager across the street at Alfred's, which the Florida Gators took over, agreed.

Brad Glover said he planned for the big crowd.

"We had to bump up all our staff, all our bartenders. We had to order a whole bunch of extra food, and extra liquor and beer," Glover said.

The rain only bought a small problem for fans. The problem was having enough space.

"I do have two patios that actually I'm not able to use today because of the rain. But it's bringing everyone inside. Everyone is a little close-knit family now. So it's doing pretty good," Glover said.

Businesses were doing pretty good on a pretty messy day, but there was one thing the guy said would have made it better.

"I wish Memphis was in it," Glover said.

However, Wells explains this is still "a wonderful time to be in Memphis, Tennessee."